Out of the Storm (Buckhorn, Montana #1) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,16
heard someone call Lindsey rushed up to take her order.
Kate slumped back in relief. She wasn’t hungry, but eating gave her an excuse to stay. Even with people curious about her, it was better than that dark motel room.
Lindsey had just left to put her order in when Kate looked up to see the older woman Collin had been talking to earlier standing next to her table.
“Mind if I join you?” the woman asked and didn’t wait for an answer as she slid into the booth. “I wanted to welcome you to Buckhorn. I’m the café owner. In the summer I also run the bakery on the edge of town.” She held out her hand. “Bessie Walker.” Bessie smelled of yeast, sugar and cinnamon. Her smile was welcoming, just like her bright blue eyes.
“Kate Jackson.” She shook the warm smooth hand.
“I see you’re engaged,” Bessie said.
Kate looked down at her left hand. Seeing the ring on her finger startled her. “It was recent.” She thumbed the band to straighten the diamond. “I’m not used to it yet.”
“Seems to me it doesn’t quite fit.”
“Yes, it’s a little too big. I haven’t had time to have it sized.”
“That, too,” Bessie said and smiled. “Your fiancé...”
“Collin Matthews,” Kate provided.
“He was asking about Jon,” the woman said, meeting her gaze and holding it.
Was that the woodworker’s name? “Jon?” she repeated. Not Daniel. Not her Danny. She felt her cheeks heat. Just as she’d feared, everyone in town knew.
“Jon Harper,” Bessie said. “I believe you met him yesterday. He runs a woodworking shop out of the old Aldrich carriage house. Talented man. I sell what he makes at my bakery during the summer months. That’s when we get the most tourists through town.”
Kate couldn’t imagine enough people came through and bought his handmade wood products to keep the man fed.
“He likes to work in his shop, keep to himself.” Bessie shrugged. “People in Buckhorn respect each other’s...quirks.”
She knew what the woman was trying to tell her. Just as she couldn’t help asking, “Has he been here long?”
Bessie hesitated. “Showed up in summer about five years ago. His truck broke down. Like you, he was waiting for a part to come in. By the time it did, he had rented Mabel Aldrich’s guest cabin. Mabel’s husband, Frank, was a woodworker and had all the tools. Frank had died that spring, so she told Jon he could use them and the carriage house.” She finished as if that was either all she knew about Jon—or all she figured Kate needed to know.
She thought of the man she’d seen in that workshop and felt a chill curl around her neck even though the café was almost too warm inside.
The waitress brought Kate’s breakfast and refilled her coffee without a word, before hurrying back to the kitchen.
Bessie hesitated, as if expecting Kate would have more questions. After a moment, she rose. “It was nice to meet you, Kate. I have some cinnamon rolls in the oven. Don’t leave without picking up a couple for you and your fiancé. I would imagine your car part will be in at any time. I heard Fred’s been calling around trying to pick up a used part to get you on your way. Headed any place special?”
Kate had no idea. “Just wanted to see Montana in the winter.”
Bessie laughed. “Well, that’s a new one. Most people come in the summer.” That blue gaze held hers for a moment. “You stay warm, and don’t forget your cinnamon rolls. With luck, you’ll be on the road by this afternoon.”
Kate watched the woman walk away, feeling as if she’d been told to leave town. She’d definitely been told to leave Jon Harper alone.
* * *
THE WHOLE PLACE smelled like grease and oil and sweat as Collin walked into the garage of the old gas station. His rental SUV was in the first bay. Fred was working on a pickup on the hydraulic lift in the second bay. The clank of a wrench against metal could be heard over the drone of the newsman on the radio.
Another storm right behind this one? Is that what the man had said? Collin groaned irritably. His claustrophobia was getting worse. The sooner they got out of this town, the better. Although he had to wonder how many more dead husbands Kate might see along the way. He didn’t know what to think about this latest development. But at least she’d come to her senses and realized her mistake.